French Open: Andy Murray hits back against Troicki

Fourth seed Murray started very slowly but then found his form in Paris

Andy Murray will look to complete a stirring fightback when he returns on Tuesday tied at two sets all against Viktor Troicki in the fourth round of the French Open.

The Briton's ankle injury, sustained in the previous round against Michael Berrer, had been the main source of concern heading into Monday's match but, after a cautious start, Murray hit back from two sets down to level at 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-2 when bad light stopped play.

The pair must now play the final set at 1300 BST on Tuesday, with the winner going on to face unseeded Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela in the quarter-finals.

Murray looked to be heading home when he trailed by two sets and a break but he kept battling away on a darkening Court Suzanne Lenglen, and when play ended after two hours and 50 minutes it was the Scot who had the upper hand.

His participation had remained in some doubt until he completed a very public training session on Monday afternoon, and he was clearly distracted, at the very least, by the ankle as he dropped the first five games in only 17 minutes.

Troicki, the 15th seed, had begun in confident fashion but, with the set apparently won, he suddenly found Murray a more dangerous proposition.

The Scot reeled off four games in a row as he went for his shots and had a break point to complete a remarkable comeback, but a horribly mistimed return landed outside the tramlines and Troicki edged to the set.

Murray had been the dominant force for 20 minutes, however, and with his movement now seemingly unhindered he went 4-2 clear in the second set thanks to a crunching cross-court forehand.

What followed was a run of four poor games from the world number four, with a drop shot into the net handing back the break and some passive play letting a couple of break points slip by in game eight.

Troicki, part of Serbia's victorious Davis Cup team last year, took the initiative, attacking the net to break again for 5-4 and coming through a tense game with a big serve on his third set point.

A furious Murray, who was warned for racquet abuse in the opening set, risked a penalty by breaking his racquet on his foot, and when two wayward forehands and a backhand over the baseline handed Troicki another break early in the third set, the game appeared to be up.

It was to the Briton's credit that he did not see it that way and he continued to urge himself on, levelling immediately at 2-2 with one of his best drop shots of the day.

The trainer was called midway through the set to attend to the strapping around Murray's right ankle but there was no stopping the fourth seed and he broke again with a blistering forehand before serving out.

With darkness falling it was clear that Murray would not have time to win the match but he stepped on the accelerator in a bid to end the day level and, with Troicki looking to the umpire to help him out, the Scot wasted no time as he broke twice more and secured the fourth set with the time approaching 9.30pm local time.